The Mansfield, Texas, Independent School District got a federal grant to set up Arabic studies programs in several schools in that district. Here is how the local CBS affiliate wrote the story (and that link will now take you to a Page Not Found — the local affiliate took the page down):
Some Students at Mansfield ISD schools could soon be learning Arabic as a required language. The school district wants students at select schools to take Arabic language and culture classes as part of a federally funded grant.The Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant was awarded to Mansfield ISD last summer by the U.S. Department of Education.
As part of the five-year $1.3 million grant, Arabic classes would be mandatory at Cross Timbers Intermediate School and Kenneth Davis Elementary School. The program would also be optional for students at T. A. Howard Middle School and Summit High School.
Far right bloggers have reacted predictably (the quote is from Atlas Shrugs; the link goes to Memeorandum):
In a federally funded program, students will now be required to take Arabic. Mandatory Arabic? Your taxpayer dollars at work to advance Islamic culture. In addition to language, the grant provides “culture, government, art, traditions and history as part of the curriculum.” Islamic supremacism on the march in the public square.
Here are the facts (emphasis is in original):
Mansfield ISD was recently awarded a Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant focused on the Arabic language from the Department of Education. The District applied for this grant because the Arabic language is listed by the federal government as a critical language. This means that our country has a shortage of Arabic speakers and there is a need for people who are not only proficient in the Arabic language, but also possess knowledge about its cultures and traditions.
Recent concerns have been raised by parents concerning plans for the curriculum. We are working with parents and staff for the language curriculum development.
- Mansfield ISD has slowed the process of implementation to get parent input for curriculum creation.
- There are no “mandatory Arabic classes” as being falsely reported in the media.
The rest of the above bulleted list consists of items intended to reassure terrified and angry parents who have been protesting the school district’s failure to have public hearings before applying for, or implementing, the grant, to give parents the chance to have a say in whether their children are subjected to anything as radical, untested, and potentially dangerous as adding Arabic language and culture as a foreign language option in their schools.
- As part of language acquisition and development, the early grades would have elements of Arabic language within the framework of the state-mandated curriculum.
- In the K-6 grades (Davis Elementary and Cross Timbers Intermediate), the curriculum-writing process has stopped.
- In grades 7-12 (T.A. Howard Middle and Summit High School), Arabic language will be offered as elective courses to meet foreign language requirement.
- This project is federally funded for $1.3 million dollars over a 5 year period.
It’s a temporary program, everyone: You can stop hyperventilating.
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